Artoria

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Artoria Pendragon
Alias(es)	Saber; Knight King; King Arthur; Black Assassin; Artoria Alter
Species/Race	Heroic Spirit; later described as closer to a divine spirit/goddess due to the Holy Lance 245
Gender	Female
Affiliation	Einzbern side in the Fourth Holy Grail War; Black Faction; Blue Faction
Occupation/Role	Servant; King of Knights; Ruler-class adjudicator
Status	Returned to Avalon after remaining in the present world with Mordred for approximately a week 336
First Appearance	Chapter 19

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Saber	19	Arrives in Fuyuki with Irisviel as her Master’s Servant.
Chaldea Saber	208	Is summoned by Ritsuka; resumes her silver-and-azure armor after appearing in summer attire.
Adult Ruler	226	Merlin modifies her Spirit Origin from the expected Lancer class to Ruler and equips her with Excalibur, Rhongomyniad, Avalon, and a Wind Barrier.
Assassin disguise	228	Uses a Class Card to conceal her Ruler identity while infiltrating the Great Holy Church.
Released adult form	273, 275	Calls her silver warhorse and fights Mordred with Rhongomyniad; her mature form is taller and more powerful.
Artoria Alter	317, 318	Sakutsuki’s Command Spells force her Alteration. She ultimately chooses to acknowledge him as Master and fight at his side.

Background / History

In life, Artoria was the king of ancient Britain. After drawing the Sword of Selection from the stone, she concealed her gender and ruled as the ideal King Arthur. Internal strife ultimately destroyed her kingdom, leaving her convinced that she had failed as king; she initially sought the Holy Grail to have Britain’s ruler chosen again 37.

During the Fourth Holy Grail War, she manifested as Saber under Irisviel and Kiritsugu Emiya. Her knightly principles conflicted fundamentally with Kiritsugu’s methods, and Sakutsuki later offered to break her contract and protect Irisviel in exchange for her alliance 20 57. By the end of that conflict, she had begun letting go of her former burdens.

Rather than dying after Camlann, Artoria continued living in Avalon. There, freed from statecraft and war, she trained for a thousand years and grew beyond the limits she possessed in life 276. In retrospect, she also came to understand the emotional distance that had wounded Mordred and contributed to their tragedy 333.

Merlin later altered her Spirit Origin to Ruler for a new Holy Grail War. Artoria initially concealed herself as an Assassin while operating alongside Sakutsuki and Rokudou Reika, joining the Black Faction while secretly belonging to Sakutsuki’s Blue Faction 226 228 316.

Appearance

Artoria is a blonde, blue-eyed knight whose youthful Saber form is often androgynous in appearance. Her adult released form is taller and carries a more overtly regal, mature presence.

• Golden hair with a distinctive ahoge.
• Holy-blue or sapphire eyes.
• Silver-and-azure knightly armor as Saber 208.
• Adult form uses a more revealing outfit altered by Merlin, which embarrasses her 226.
• Uses a black cloak and mask while posing as Black Assassin 232 261.
• Her Alter form has golden eyes, black-themed armor, and the presence of the King of the Wild Hunt 318.

Personality

Artoria is disciplined, courteous, and deeply committed to knightly duty. She instinctively protects others, whether guiding Irisviel through an unfamiliar city or refusing to watch innocents die for the sake of strategy 20 250. Her combat style reflects the same character: refined by relentless practice until complex techniques became direct, instinctive swordsmanship 209.

As king, she was once emotionally distant and overly focused on ideals. Her time in Avalon gave her the distance to recognize what she had lost—especially her failure to understand Mordred’s need for acknowledgment 333. She becomes more expressive and openly caring during the later war, though she remains awkward at teaching ordinary subjects because Merlin taught her advanced knowledge directly 310 311.

She is competitive, fond of food, and easily flustered by Sakutsuki’s teasing. Despite recognizing his manipulative and ruthless side, she places profound trust in him and sees herself as the person who understands him best 254 298.

Abilities & Skills

Master Swordsmanship

Artoria’s swordsmanship is the product of lifelong training and a millennium of further practice in Avalon.

• Her techniques are simplified into fast, instinctive movements without wasted flourish 209.
• She overwhelms Mordred through superior experience, timing, and continued growth 276.
• Sakutsuki judges her pressure to be comparable to—or more dangerous than—Karna’s 276.

Mana Burst

Artoria can reinforce herself and her weapons with magical energy.

• Reached Ritsuka almost instantly to seize food by using Mana Burst 208.
• Enhances her mobility, strength, and weapon strikes.
• Her magical energy is sufficient for large-scale Noble Phantasm use when supplied by the Black Faction’s homunculus system 254.

Intuition

Artoria possesses an exceptional instinct for danger and combat.

• Detects hostile presences and reacts to sudden threats 20.
• Her intuition remains effective even while Mordred presses her into a near-defeat scenario 276.
• Allows her to identify flaws in opponents’ attacks and respond with minimal delay.

Noble Phantasms

• Excalibur — Artoria’s Holy Sword; used to decisively defeat Mordred after disarming her 276.
• Rhongomyniad — An A++ Anti-City Holy Lance. Its released attack unleashes a storm of light capable of shaking the Hanging Gardens and cleansing its mysteries 226 286.
• Avalon / Utopian Ideal Land — An EX-ranked barrier Noble Phantasm capable of countering Ea. Artoria uses it to redirect Spartacus’s self-destruction toward the Red Faction’s stronghold and to aid in purifying Little Jack’s resentment 226 282 302.
• Wind Barrier — A practical C-rank Noble Phantasm used to obscure her weapon and identity 226 254.

Artoria Alter

After being forced into Alteration, Artoria manifests as the King of the Wild Hunt.

• Wields Rhongomyniad while riding the skeletal warhorse Ema-ramlai 318.
• Generates storms and can disperse Atalante’s Noble Phantasm with a physical spear strike 318.
• Leads seven Shadow Servants in coordinated assaults despite her reduced Leadership rank 327.
• Her altered principles and hostility do not erase her attachment to Sakutsuki; she chooses to protect him after the transformation 318.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Excalibur — Holy Sword of King Arthur.
• Rhongomyniad — Holy Lance and anchor of the storm.
• Avalon — Excalibur’s scabbard and an EX-ranked defensive Noble Phantasm.
• Don Starsen — Silver-armored warhorse summoned in her released form 273.
• Ema-ramlai — Skeletal warhorse used by Artoria Alter 318.
• Black cloak and little lion mask — Disguise used during her Black Assassin identity 232 261.
• Water gun — Treated by Artoria as a legitimate weapon reserve during her Chaldea summer appearance 195.

Relationships

• Irisviel von Einzbern — Master and close companion during the Fourth Holy Grail War. Artoria treats Irisviel with tenderness and knightly protectiveness 19 20.
• Sakutsuki — Master, ally, and fellow king. Their relationship moves from wary cooperation to deep mutual trust, though his manipulation and use of Command Spells creates severe conflict 226 254 317 318.
• Mordred — Her “child” and former Knight of the Round Table. Their relationship is defined by resentment, misunderstanding, battle, and Artoria’s eventual wish to acknowledge and guide her 275 276 311 313.
• Merlin — Teacher and guide in Avalon. He altered her Spirit Origin to Ruler and changed her adult attire; Artoria’s former admiration has become frustration and dislike 226.
• Rokudou Reika — Ally and nominal Master during the Black Faction operation. Reika mediates Artoria’s attempts to educate Mordred and shares her concern for Little Jack 227 310.
• Little Jack — Artoria develops maternal affection toward her and chooses to teach her after seeing her begin to grow 305.
• Jeanne d’Arc — A fellow Ruler whose resemblance to Artoria initially shocks her. Artoria later protects Jeanne and treats her with growing warmth 240 280 303.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Fourth Holy Grail War

Artoria arrives in Fuyuki as Saber and accompanies Irisviel. She encounters Sakutsuki’s faction, confronts the incompatibility between her ideals and Kiritsugu’s methods, and becomes one of the figures whose defeat strengthens Sakutsuki’s Codex 19 20 57 210.

Chaldea Interlude

As a Chaldea Servant, Artoria reunites with Mordred and confronts the contrast between the idealized Knight King and her more ordinary traits. She reflects on the life she lacked as king and confirms that the original Artoria remains alive in Avalon 203 213 214.

Great Holy Grail War

Modified into a Ruler-class Servant, Artoria conceals herself as Black Assassin while aiding Sakutsuki’s emerging Blue Faction. Her identity as King Arthur is eventually exposed when she uses Avalon and Rhongomyniad openly 228 282 283.

She pursues and defeats Mordred but refuses to kill her, choosing instead to recruit her and confront their unresolved relationship 274 275 276. Artoria later protects the Black Faction from Spartacus’s self-destruction, redirects the blast toward the Hanging Gardens, and earns the faction’s trust 282.

Reconciliation with Mordred

Artoria attempts to educate Mordred, first through an encyclopedia and later with help from Sakutsuki, Jeanne, Amakusa, and Semiramis. Their strained exchanges develop into direct discussion of kingship, regret, and Mordred’s future 310 311 312 313.

Alteration and Final Battle

Artoria rejects Sakutsuki’s ruthless use of Adam and Command Spells, comparing him to Kiritsugu. Sakutsuki forcibly Alters her, but she ultimately chooses to remain by his side as Artoria Alter 317 318. As Alter, she commands Shadow Servants, supports Sakutsuki in battle, and faces Mordred again 327.

Her true self later returns from Avalon through Merlin’s dream, gives Mordred Excalibur, and grants her the chance to overcome Sakutsuki 333.

Trivia

• Artoria is identified as the feminine form of “Artorius,” making her name Artoria Pendragon 23.
• She is an enthusiastic eater and can be lured or summoned with snacks 203 208.
• Despite her regal education, she struggles to teach elementary material because her own education was exceptionally advanced 310 311.
• She cannot swim well despite having protection from a lake spirit 213.
• After the war, she stays in the present world with Mordred for about a week before returning to Avalon because the modern world rejects her existence 336.